As no one witnessed the deck-hand falling overboard, the precise cause of his fall cannot be established. However, it would appear that he lost his footing or his handhold, or both, as he attempted to make his way from the afterdeck to the foredeck via the comparatively narrow side decking on the port side of the slaughterhouse and wheel-house. Since there is no noise barrier between the engine-room and the slaughterhouse and the exhaust pipe passes through the slaughterhouse, a high noise level is created in the area, especially when the engine is operating at full speed, as it was on the morning of 29 April. Furthermore, the sealed windows on the port side of the wheel-house probably would make any outside sound inaudible to anyone in the wheel-house. Hence, a cry for help, if any, would have gone unnoticed aboard the vessel. Because of the view of the starboard side decking afforded from the conning position, the owner/operator would have been in a better position to monitor the deck-hand's progress if he had passed on that side of the wheel-house. The victim, a non-swimmer, was not wearing any form of flotation device. Consequently, his ability to survive was greatly reduced when he fell into the cold water. The rubber boots the deck-hand was wearing are considered to be of better-than-average quality and were almost new. His vinyl-coated gloves were ideal for working in cold water but not good for climbing on the outboard side of the wheel-house.Analysis As no one witnessed the deck-hand falling overboard, the precise cause of his fall cannot be established. However, it would appear that he lost his footing or his handhold, or both, as he attempted to make his way from the afterdeck to the foredeck via the comparatively narrow side decking on the port side of the slaughterhouse and wheel-house. Since there is no noise barrier between the engine-room and the slaughterhouse and the exhaust pipe passes through the slaughterhouse, a high noise level is created in the area, especially when the engine is operating at full speed, as it was on the morning of 29 April. Furthermore, the sealed windows on the port side of the wheel-house probably would make any outside sound inaudible to anyone in the wheel-house. Hence, a cry for help, if any, would have gone unnoticed aboard the vessel. Because of the view of the starboard side decking afforded from the conning position, the owner/operator would have been in a better position to monitor the deck-hand's progress if he had passed on that side of the wheel-house. The victim, a non-swimmer, was not wearing any form of flotation device. Consequently, his ability to survive was greatly reduced when he fell into the cold water. The rubber boots the deck-hand was wearing are considered to be of better-than-average quality and were almost new. His vinyl-coated gloves were ideal for working in cold water but not good for climbing on the outboard side of the wheel-house. The deck-hand, without the knowledge of the other crew members, attempted to make his way from the afterdeck to the foredeck via the narrow, 21 cm-wide port side decking. The cause of the deck-hand's fall overboard cannot be positively established. However, it is likely that he lost his footing or his handhold, or both, and fell overboard. The deck-hand elected to use the narrow port side decking to gain access to the foredeck; the owner/operator would have been in a better position to monitor the deck-hand's progress if he had used the starboard side decking, which was of the same width. The high level of engine noise and the sealed wheel-house windows on the port side could preclude any call for help from being heard. The deck-hand, a non-swimmer, was not wearing any form of flotation device, which greatly reduced his ability to survive when he fell overboard into the cold water. The CCG and the fishing industry have agreed that anti-exposure worksuits are alternative (safety) equipment for small fishing vessels, and the CCG actively promotes the voluntary carriage of worksuits on these vessels.Findings The deck-hand, without the knowledge of the other crew members, attempted to make his way from the afterdeck to the foredeck via the narrow, 21 cm-wide port side decking. The cause of the deck-hand's fall overboard cannot be positively established. However, it is likely that he lost his footing or his handhold, or both, and fell overboard. The deck-hand elected to use the narrow port side decking to gain access to the foredeck; the owner/operator would have been in a better position to monitor the deck-hand's progress if he had used the starboard side decking, which was of the same width. The high level of engine noise and the sealed wheel-house windows on the port side could preclude any call for help from being heard. The deck-hand, a non-swimmer, was not wearing any form of flotation device, which greatly reduced his ability to survive when he fell overboard into the cold water. The CCG and the fishing industry have agreed that anti-exposure worksuits are alternative (safety) equipment for small fishing vessels, and the CCG actively promotes the voluntary carriage of worksuits on these vessels. The precise cause of the deck-hand's fall overboard cannot be established; however, it is likely that he lost his footing or handhold, or both, and fell overboard. The deck-hand's ability to survive was greatly reduced because he was not wearing any form of flotation device.Causes and Contributing Factors The precise cause of the deck-hand's fall overboard cannot be established; however, it is likely that he lost his footing or handhold, or both, and fell overboard. The deck-hand's ability to survive was greatly reduced because he was not wearing any form of flotation device.